Pick Pocket
by Otter Child
Summary: Playing tourist isn't nearly as safe as it's made out to be.
1. Chapter 1

1

The weapon had a nice heft to it. Sweet, light, with an easy one-hand grip. Jenny tossed it from hand to hand, absentmindedly factoring in the planet's lighter gravity, then checked the aim with a studious expression. Probably a good three-hundred meter accuracy range. An easy fit in a back pocket or a satchel, easy to conceal.

Behind her, there was an ostentatious sigh.

"A weapons stall. All the shops in the plaza and I find you in a weapons stall. Why am I not surprised?"

Jenny glanced back at her father, then shrugged and laid the gun back down on the table.

"Just looking."

"Well, come an' look at this. Lovely little shop over here selling tarts. Rather good tarts too."

"And how many pastries have you had today?" Jenny asked, blinking in the bright light outside the shop. The Doctor looked upwards, thinking, and shrugged. "Lost count on the sixth."

Jenny glanced at him with a half-smile, brushing silvery bangs out of her eyes. Turning, she looked up as a bright shadow passed overhead, just in time to watch the fellow shopper alight on a shop doorway above. The Pa'aqui were an aviform people, and probably the most beautiful Jenny had ever seen. She'd been trying to figure out how to explain how they looked to her friend Luke, next time she got to Earth. Take a macaw parrot, she thought, cross it with an ostrich and give it two pairs of wings, one pair vestigial and hand like, cover its chest with ultraviolet-fluorescing feathers, make the whole combination graceful and agile, and you basically had the Pa'aqui. That explanation almost did them justice, but it didn't explain how their feathers flashed in the sun or the beauty they showed in flight. They strutted all around the Plaza of Tu-re-d'rhuit, sometimes taking wing over the heads of visitors, space-porters and crews on shore leave. High above, levels of stores rose in graceful arches and geometric patterns. If they hadn't installed airlifts around the Plaza their earthbound visitors wouldn't be able to reach more than a third of the shops.

"I hope you didn't mean that gun for a gift." The Doctor said over his shoulder. Jenny cocked her head, her face thoughtful.

"Martha might appreciate it if she works for UNIT. It's got a nice range and good recharge time. The grip's a bit slick, but you compensate with a bit of-" she broke off at the sight of her father's scandalized face.

"Kidding, Father."

The Doctor eyed her for a long moment, before Jenny changed the subject. "What made you think about Christmas shopping anyway?"

"Oh, I don't know" the Doctor said, fingers running over a woven scarf, "Just about that time of the year, relatively speaking. And I'm in the mood to check on Martha anyhow. She'll be married about now. What about this feather blanket?"

Jenny appraised it, and shrugged. She nodded to the store keeper. Male or female? The females were usually larger, but it was hard to tell sometimes.

"Why don't we shop on Earth?" She called over the noise of the crowd.

"Because I wanted to get presents, not junk." The Doctor called back. "Besides, you ever seen the crush in a store right before Christmas? Worse than murder. How about this?" he asked, holding a large jewel up to his eye and looking through it. Jenny cocked her head.

"Kind of nice, I guess. Too bad the Walker had to work; this place is amazing."

"Yes, well, that's what happens when you sign in with a government, they'll always find more work for you to do. Ooh, now that looks interesting. C'mon!" He grabbed her hand, striding through the throng. Jenny glanced in the direction they were heading. To one side there was a shop selling sonic devices. Jenny perked up. She'd been meaning to get into a store like that and pick up something along the lines of her father's sonic screwdriver; something small, but tactically advantageous.

Suddenly there was a hard tug on the strap of her satchel, a loud ripping noise. Jenny whirled on her heel.

"Hey!"

Two wide yellow eyes stared out of a child's face. Then the kid took off into the crowd.

"Damn it!" Jenny hissed, glancing down at her bag. That was the pocket she kept her credit sticks in. Pushing her satchel behind her, she took off running. Bent on her quarry, she barely noticed her father's shout back in the crowd.

* * *

'Wha-what-Jenny! Wait! Where're you going?!"

The Doctor pushed past a few freighter workers, ducked under a basket carrier, shouldering his way through the crowd. The glint of golden hair was gone, swallowed up in the bustling crowd. The Doctor pushed forward. She had to be around here. But she could've gone in any direction, knowing her.

It was times like this that he wished he'd kept some of the height from his fourh body, or the presence from his ninth. Made crowd situations so much easier. Where was the girl? He did his best to stand still and relax.

_Jenny, where are you? _

He wasn't getting anything back but emotions. Anger, excitement, a hint of joy. Her mind was focused.

_Jenny, talk to me and tell me what's going on!_

Anger. Surprise. Then the Doctor stumbled as the connection between them was snapped in a wave of vertigo. He righted, his brown eyes wide with shock.

He couldn't feel her. She simply wasn't there.

* * *

Jenny shoved past another shopper, earning an indignant squawk. The little pickpocket was always just ahead of her. At least it hadn't flown off; it hopped, skipped, then flapped for a few seconds and fell back to running. The only problem was that even a short flight took the kid over the heads of the crowd, while Jenny fought through the throng below.

She supposed she could just let the kid have the credit sticks. They weren't that important. She really ought to. Her brain told her to forget the chase as a lost cause. But Jenny kept running. She couldn't stop now. She almost had her target.

"Oi! Kid!" She shouted, jumping over a low cart. "Kid, those are mine!"

The kid took off over a stall, landed in a pile, but righted itself and kept running, darting down a side street. For a little thing, it was bloody fast.

"Oi! Give those credits back!"

Another side street, then another and another. But Jenny was gaining.

A shadow passed overhead. Glancing up, Jenny saw another Pa'aqui, an adult, diving like a hawk after the kid. Great, she could use a little backup. She was almost on top of the kid-

Then her stomach did a double flip into her throat. The ground beneath her feet had given way. She was falling.

_Where'd the ground go?!_

The light disappeared overhead.

_What the hell?! What's a hole doing in the middle of the street?! How-_

Pain.

Nothing.


	2. Chapter 2

2

"The ccriminal has been app-rehended."

"Yes, that's very nice, but you see I had someone with me, and what I could really use is help finding her right now, so if you don't mind-"

The city guard on his left cocked her emu-like head, staring down at the Doctor. "You will follow us please, and wit-ness ccriminal rep-rimand."

"I'm sure you've got a lovely justice system," the Doctor replied quickly, "but right now I'm a little more concerned-"

"Wit-ness follow, please." Said the guard on his right, turning on one leg.

The Doctor let out a frustrated sigh. He just wasn't getting through to these three. The guard in the lead had already begun to walk away, holding the little bundle of feathers that they'd labeled 'the criminal' in her talon-like hands. Apparently the little thing had stolen something out of Jenny's pack. That the guard seemed to have very clear in their bird brains, though they couldn't seem to get the fact that he was more interested in finding the girl whose things had been stolen than the things themselves.

Fine. Go with them, get it over as fast as possible, and then get going. He needed to get out there and find her. Shouldn't take too long as long as it was in the city court. One part of his mind told him to calm down.

The rest of his brain was taken up with finding Jenny's signature. And panicking. Could she have been transported out of the city? No. No, the planet of Pa'aqui had an electromagnetic shield around it. She had to be here. Unconscious, then. She had to be unconscious; that was the only explanation for his inability to pick her up. Or…no, unconscious. He wouldn't accept the alternative.

The guards pushed through the crowd, the Doctor walking in their wake. Where was she? What in the name of the Seven Systems could've put her out of commission? Certainly not the little fuzz bundle being carried in front of him.

Finally, they entered a low, wide building. Leading them into a chamber, the lead guard dumped her charge into a clear plastecine tub, closed the lid, and took up a place behind it. A small bell rang somewhere, and four female Pa'aqui filed in, taking their positions on large embroidered cushions. In their places around the room, the guards trilled.

"Honor to the Sisters of Justice. The Little Ccourt begins."

* * *

It was dark. Pain. Back of the head. Voices somewhere above; indecipherable currents of sound washing overhead.

Wake up. Focus. Got to focus. Anything broken? No. Got to wake up.

"…down through the undergrating while it was open. Must've…"

"….brainless idiot…trying to get us caught…stupid damn… you ought to be…"

"….going to do with…"

"and dump…out in the street. Check for valuables. Maybe she has something on her we can sell."

Everything clicked into place. Jenny's eyes snapped open. Four humans present; one held her satchel. Another held a thick-bladed knife, about half a meter long.

_Check her for valuables? You wish._

As quick as thought, Jenny kicked out. Her left leg knocked one opponent out, and she was on her feet. The one with the knife came at her. Duck under, grab the arm, twist hard. Bone snapped, knife dropped.

Running footsteps. Tunnel to the left. More coming. How many? Jab to the stomach. Uppercut. There had to be a way out somewhere around here. Where?! Chop down on another knife hand, turn, duck, punch. Five down. Six. Seven.

Pain. Damn. Back of the head again.

Nothing.

* * *

She was there, just for a few minutes. The Doctor took a deep breath. So she was still in the city. She must've been unconscious then; must be coming out of it. But even so, he needed to get out of here and figure out where she was.

At the head of the room, the four Sisters of Justice sat in a ruffle of feathers. Sisters of Justice. The Doctor searched his memory. Judges and lawmakers in this country, trained from a very young age and specifically gifted. A rare genetic quirk called the Light Eyes allowed them to see the electromagnetic fields around living things, making them very reliable lie detectors. It was said that the truly skilled ones could see the electromagnetic patterns of the universe, and read a hint of the future in them. Not sure if he believed that one, but interesting all the same.

"Name of the acc-cused?" said the Sister on his far right. Of course. Four Sisters; one to record, one to speak to the defendant, one to speak to the witnesses, and one to pass judgment.

There was a tiny chirrup from the box.

"Name of acc-cused recor-ded Sha-Ta. Name of wit-ness?"

"The Doctor, but I really must-"

"Name of wit-ness recor-ded Doc-tor."

Beside her, the next Sister spoke. "Acc-cused Sha-Ta, you have been seen pil-fering from this vis-itor." She turned her head, looking the Doctor in the eye.

"Vis-itor wit-ness, what have you seen?"

"Not a lot, really. I heard my companion call out, and when I turned round she was chasing somebody into the crowd."

"Was it this acc-cused?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Can't be sure; I really didn't see much. But if I could-"

The Sister inclined her head, then turned on her cushion. "Guard Dre-Yal, what have you seen?"

To the left, a guard spoke. "I saw the acc-cused fleeing from a visi-tor who called out a-gainst her. I heard her demand her goods re-turned."

"And did you happen to see where the visitor got to?" the Doctor interjected. Seven pairs of yellow eyes stared at him.

"Do not inter-rupt" the Sister on the far left ordered. She turned to the guard, nodding.

"I took cust-ody of the acc-cused." The guard resumed. "I found these on her per-son." Flaring out her wings, she approached the cushions, displaying six blue rods.

The Sister in the center left ruffled her feathers. "Sha-Ta, what is your hatch-ing line?"

"Not known." The girl chirped, her head still lowered.

"Your home?"

"Braka Sum."

"Guar-dian?"

"None."

"Did you take the cred-its?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Hun-gry"

"Sha-Ta, you have not come be-fore this court be-fore."

"No."

The Sister nodded.

Turning, the Sister in charge of recording faced the end of the line.

"Infor-mation has been heard. Your judg-ment now."

* * *

Dark still. Head…not quite optimal. Okay. A long way from optimal. Hurting like hell, actually. The world took longer to come back into focus this time. Well, at least it was upright.

Jenny opened her eyes. Not such a good thing, maybe. It was upright, because her arms were set into restraints, clamped into the wall. She sighed to herself. _I hate it when this happens._

She started to reach forward-and squinted as the movement made her vision swim.

_Better wait until this damn wound stops hurting. Hold still and gather reconnaissance._

From what she could see, she was in a circular room, with tunnels leading off it. Storage chamber of some sort; boxes were stacked in every direction. Refrigeration boxes, the kind you used to store fresh produce. Nothing much else.

In the tunnels, there was occasional movement. Men passing back and forth, dressed as civilians. Civilians on the wrong side of the middle-class line. The air smelled of earth and water and something else, something organic.

What was this? A group of thieves? Maybe the pickpocket who'd gone for her was one of them. Or smugglers? Whatever they were, they were afraid of being caught. If her head would only stop pounding…

There had to be an exit. That was what she needed. The way out. Think…

The smell was stronger for a moment. Pungent. Acrid. Organic. Jenny glanced up from beneath her lashes, careful to remain limp and still. There was a man walking into the room, his clothing covered in a long white apron. He hefted up a box. The lights in the room made the red stains across his chest leap out. Then he turned, and disappeared into the corridors.

"Shix." Jenny whispered into the empty room.

She should've known. Blood was one of the substances that always smelled the same.


	3. Chapter 3

3

"Sorry, my what?" He couldn't possibly have heard her right.

"Ser-vant." The judging sister repeated. "The ac-cused will re-pay crime by acting as ser-vant."

"Yes, well, that's a wonderful plan, one of the best systems of justice around, really, but I'd prefer not to have somebody tagging along after me. How about we just let the whole thing go? She's got a good scare in her an' I'm sure that'll set her back on the straight'n'narrow. How about that?"

The judging Sister stared at him for a long moment.

"She is your ser-vant. It will re-pay her debt. She will be re-deemed."

"Yes, I got that part," the Doctor replied loudly, "but I really don't have time to play Mr. Brownlow in the feathered version of _Oliver Twist. _I've got things to do, and-"

"And your ser-vant will aid you. Re-turn her here when you leave pla-net." As she spoke, the first guard opened the tub and lifted out its captive. The Doctor had opened his mouth to voice his arguments, when the small Pa'aqui was set on the ground. Walking up to him, it bowed so low that its beak touched the floor, its wings spread to the fullest extent.

That was the symbol for complete submission. And, if he remembered right, the symbol for requesting aid as well.

The Doctor let out a long breath.

"Fine. All right! I don't have time for this. You're my servant; just keep up."

He turned on his heel, and strode from the room. The girl stayed behind him as if she were a feathered shadow.

* * *

Blood. Everything smelled like blood now. More men were arriving. The work day must be getting on, and the smell of blood was overwhelming. Which made sense for an underground slaughter-house.

That was what this place was. Chunks of meat were carried into the room, packaged, put into the produce boxes. And it wasn't hard to figure out the type of meat. Feathers were mixed into blood stuck to the aprons, scattered on the floor. Occasionally she saw skinned legs and wings being carried through the tunnels.

They were butchering Pa'aqui. Killing men and women and selling the meat off-world.

When she got loose, this was going to stop.

* * *

The market place outside the Little Court bustled as it had earlier, thronged with people and movement. The Doctor stared at the commotion for a long moment. She was there, somewhere. Somewhere in this mess. Where could they start?

Start with the obvious place, work forward. He turned to the little bundle of feathers.

"All right, you can start helping right about now. The girl you-well, stole from, I need to find her. If you can just take me where you two ran off to, that's a pretty good starting point I think. Don't you think so?"

Two wide yellow eyes stared up at him. The Doctor raised his eyebrows. "All right then. Not big on the conversation factor, that's fine. Lead the way."

With another long look at him, the girl jumped off the steps, walking away.

"I went this way. Come sir."

The girl wove through the crowd, ducking under and sometimes leaping over obstacles and shoppers. Wasn't this always the way of it. They'd been relaxing in this plaza not long ago. And then, of course, little miss thief had appeared, and everything had gone to pot. Why did something unpleasant happen whenever he tried to relax? He squeezed between a cart and a very fat Reyata. Something about that seemed inherently unfair.

He couldn't really blame the kid, though. She'd been pickpocketing as a form of survival. And no wonder; on this planet a child without the pedigree of a hatching line or a guardian was essentially among the walking dead. The avian mind didn't have a lot of compassion written into it. Most kids like this one didn't survive into adulthood, and the ones who did lived out their lives on the streets. Sad situation. But, until these people learned better, that was the way it was. He ducked a low-flying Pa'aqui.

And all this fuss for a few credit sticks.

"Credit sticks." He complained as he walked, "all this for a few bloody credit sticks. Something she could've done just as well without. So she lost a few credits. So what?! 'S not like we need them. Why did she have to go haring off after a few pieces of blue metal? Crazy kid. Chased you all the way across this plaza for something she didn't even care about particularly. But you know that's just like her. I'll lay diamonds to donuts it wasn't the credits that kept her running. It's the thrill of the chase she was running after. And I'd win the donuts on that bet. And-" The Doctor paused his tirade, glancing up as the sun disappeared behind buildings that hemmed in the alley, creating a jostling gauntlet.

"Oh…she kept running in _here?_"

Sha-Ta nodded, staring up at him.

"She was ve-ry ex-ci-ted. And an-gry. Ve-ry big light. It is why I ran so fast."

He rolled his eyes.

"Oh, she probably thought of it as a challenge. Now, where did you go next?"

The girl bobbed her head forward, plunging into the crowd. Between the people, the carts, the tobo used to pull loads and the looming buildings, this had to be one of the most congested places the Doctor had ever been in, and that was saying something. He pushed past a group of laughing taeda cadets, trying not to step on anything too squashy underfoot. The air rang with voices and assaulted him with scents; fruit, incense, feathers, sweat, clay from the buildings. A person could disappear into these alleys and never be found again.

Well, not if he had anything to say about it. He pulled his coat out of the seeking jaws of a tobo who apparently thought it looked appetizing. Sha-Ta led him down another alley. The smell of metal was strong; made sense, since this was the metals alley. Anything that could be made from metal had been. Normally the place would've fascinated him.

Alley after alley after alley. He was starting to have more respect for the little avian. If she'd kept ahead of Jenny this long she must be quite a sprinter.

The lanes were getting clearer of people now, and the stalls shabbier. After a few more streets they were nearly alone. The Doctor glanced around at the semi-darkness between the buildings.

"Whew. Nice to be out of the crush, hmm?"

The girl looked at him, cocked her head, then turned away.

"Did you run all this way?" he asked to keep up conversation.

"No." the girl piped, "I flew some." She glanced further down the alley. "It was not a good thing I did."

"Oh, water under the bridge. Really, I don't care that much."

The girl turned her head completely around on her long neck, staring at him.

"It was bad to steal. But it was worse to run down here."

"Oh?" the Doctor replied curiously, "Why's that then? Rough neighborhood?"

The girl ruffled her wings. "It is too near Tra Ret."

"And what would tra-ret be?"

"It is a place. A bad place. A few streets wide, a few long. Bad place."

"Why is it a bad place?" the Doctor asked quietly.

Sha-Ta ruffled her feathers again.

"Peo-ple go in-to Tra Ret. They do not come out some times."

"People?" The Doctor asked sharply. Sha-Ta nodded. "Peo-ple. Al-ley walk-ers. Peo-ple with no hatch-ing line. We try not to go there now."

"Are you saying that your people have been disappearing down in these alleys?"

The little girl bobbed her head.

"Tra Ret takes them."

* * *

"Ow!! You little bitch!!!"

Jenny grinned. They'd finally remembered she was here and come to take her away. At least she'd gotten one decent kick in. The man glared at her as he wiped the blood from his nose, and came at her again. This time she kicked him in the solar plexus. With a growl, he pulled out some kind of gun.

Shix. A stun ray. Her legs burned with numbing pain. At least she'd gotten a few blows in.

"I thought you said she was still out cold?!" The bloodied man snarled at his companion.

"She was!!"

"Please." Jenny scoffed. "None of you can hit hard enough for that."  
Both of them glared at her for a moment.

"We can't just dump her now. She's seen." The man she'd kicked held up his weapon, changing the setting. Putting it to kill probably.

Jenny stood still, waiting. Dying should be interesting. Her first true regeneration. It would probably hurt, though.

The other man shattered her reverie as he smacked the gun out of his companion's hand.

"You idiot! We can't kill her until we can dispose of the body!!"

"Yeah." Jenny laughed harshly, "I bet your customers wouldn't like the taste of me."

Again, both men glared at her. More than angry, they were panicked.

"You're a crazy bitch." Her victim said, "And you're going to shut up, or-."

Jenny gave a feral grin. "Actually, Let me tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to get loose. Then I'm going to kick your asses. And then my father is going to get here, and you'll really regret this."

The man nearest her whipped out his arm, hitting her hard in the mouth. She tasted blood, felt it running down her lip.

Intimidation was an asset in situations where the opponent was already panicked. And Jenny wanted these men unnerved and unsure. Besides, it'd feel good scaring them.

She slowly licked the blood from her lip, and gave them a wide, dangerous grin.

"That didn't help you any."

Then they were out of the room.

* * *

Tra Ret. That seemed to be a trouble spot. Logically, that was where Jenny would be. Ergo, that was why the Doctor was strolling down an alley even dirtier, narrower, and darker than the one before. Tall buildings, warehouses and shipping buildings, and the solar panels atop them cut the sunlight to a weak gloom.

There were few people down here, and the ones he did see-youturo, human, taeda and Pa'aqui-scurried away. That is, if an eight foot tall avian could be said to scurry.

Beside him, the girl fidgeted constantly, ruffling her feathers and fluffing her wings. Judging by the stories she had told before he'd come down this way, she was probably nervous.

"Tell me, Sha-Ta, why does anybody go down into these streets if it's so dangerous?" he asked, stepping around something he really didn't want to identify. The girl looked up at him, cocking her head.

"It is where the mer-chants are. Speak qui-et, please"

"Merchants? What self respecting merchant would put up shop in a place like this?"

The girl moved her head side to side in a shrug-like gesture. "Gar-ta ma-kers. Ret-y-Ba. Ses-ha. Things like that they sell here."

"Sesha?" The Doctor's eyebrows rose. "That's a strong narcotic. I thought it was…oh, I see. So the drug vendors use the area, and anyone who needs their fix, or buyers, or what have you, they have to go down here to get the stuff. Happens in every big city I suppose. So what do people say about the disappearances?"

"Tra Ret takes them."

"Yes, but what do you mean by that? I mean are these drug dealers killing clients and vice versa, or is something more than that? Are there many bodies found?"

Sha-Ta shook her head. "No. Ne-ver are they found. But at times…"

"At times?" the Doctor asked, cocking an eyebrow. The girl fluttered her wings.

"Oh come on, you can tell me."

The girl looked up. "At times they find bones."

The Doctor nodded. "That's something…that's definitely something."


	4. Chapter 4

4

"We should not be here. It is a bad place."  
The Doctor shrugged. "Oh I don't know. A little paint, a little street sweeping…or a lot of street sweeping…and the place'd be lovely. It's really all about the ambiance, you know. But at the moment, yes, it is a bit gloomy."

He was babbling and he knew it. Sometimes it helped him think, and sometimes it let him keep from thinking over a situation he couldn't affect. They'd been down in these streets for the last two hours, and still no sign of…well, anything much.

She was here, though. Somewhere. He just had to find some hint, some clue. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "She's got to be around here. Think, think, think…" Leaning back against the wall, he sighed. "There ought to be a sense at least…Sha-Ta, I need a tick."

"You are ang-ry at me?"

"No. Why would you think I'm angry at you?"

"Your light is big and ang-ry. Very big around you."

The Doctor stared at her for a long moment.

"I'm not angry, Sha-Ta. Well, not at you. I'm angry that I can't find my friend. And I'm going to try to find her right now. Amuse yourself for a minute."

He closed his eyes. If he cleared his mind and listened, really listened, he'd feel her somewhere. He had to.

It took time to clear a mind as busy as his. Sounds filtered through; wind sighing down the street, the click of Sha-Ta's talons on the street.

_Jenny. Jenny. Where are you?_

_Jenny. _

Click-clack. Ruffling feathers.

_Jenny_.

A high pitched squawk snapped him out of his frame of mind.

"Sha-Ta." He said irritably, opening his eyes, "I said I needed…" he trailed off, realizing that he was talking to an empty street.

"Sha-Ta?" she wasn't anywhere he could see.

"Sha-Ta!!" he shouted. Only the wind replied.

* * *

She couldn't believe she hadn't done this already. They'd visited Harry Houdini a year ago; she should kick herself for waiting this long to try some of his techniques. She blamed it on the cracks she'd taken to the head. She had to focus. Focus. It helped that these handcuffs were overly large, and that her thumbs bent in ways that Houdini was covetously jealous of.

Carefully, she pulled her thumb inwards until the inside of her knuckle pressed into the flesh of her palm. Then she pulled. One hand free. Then both.

In a moment, Jenny had concealed herself, keeping on the move. Objective was pretty clear. Do the maximum amount of damage to this facility in the least amount of time. Shut this place down. That, she was good at.

* * *

He'd run up and down the street two or three times, through the side streets. How could he have lost her in a matter of seconds?! He shouted her name.

If he admitted it to himself, he was panicking a little. He couldn't believe it. First his daughter, now this girl he'd gotten in his charge. He slammed a fist into the wall, cursing. "The bloody street can't just swallow her up!" he shouted. The words echoed back at him.

Or could it?

The thoughts came together in his head. People disappearing. Disappearances without transports. So what else could happen?

"Of _course_!!" he yelled. Whipping out his sonic screwdriver, he began to run it over the walls and the road, moving at a jog.

"Catch or locking mechanism, it'll open with…probably biometrically set, or electrometrically, either way this'll do the job! Booby traps! Oldest trick in the book! Probably in the road, best place for it. And who's been setting traps then? And for what? Oh, figure that out as we go along. Come on, come on…" just ahead, something clanked and juddered.

"Yes!!!"

Dropping to his knees, he focused the sonic beam. The spot in the road shuddered, and the stones fell away. A black pit gaped open. The Doctor stared down into it. He drew a quick breath.

"Well, down the hatch."

Then he leaped into darkness, his coattails flapping.

He landed with a crunch. Beneath his feet, white shards splintered.

"Bone." The Doctor murmured. "Not exactly something to inspire confidence." He changed the setting on the screwdriver, and shined its light ahead. For a moment, he closed his eyes.

_Jenny?_

* * *

Hands full of wires, Jenny's head shot up.

_Father?_

_Jenny! Where are you?!_

Clearing her mind, Jenny replied.

_I've investigated these tunnels, so I'll come to you. Just let me finish this. And be careful, there are armed combatants down here._

_Armed combatants? How do you…Jenny, what are you finishing? _

_Tell you in a bit. Busy right now._

* * *

Jenny had cut off contact. She was refusing to answer him! The Doctor indulged in a silent curse and a tug on his hair. The nerve of the girl! He broke into a quick trot. Fine, if she wasn't going to talk to him, he'd just have to track her the old-fashioned way. He could feel her quite clearly now, and it would be easy to use that sense as a compass. The corridors turned, twisting and branching like the pipes in the ceiling. Maintenance tunnels probably. He ducked into a side tunnel at the sound of voices, slipping by rooms filled with refrigerated produce boxes. The next chamber was full of packaging plastic, produce quality if he wasn't mistaken. He hurried down another corridor. He'd almost reached the light of the next chamber, when the ring of running feet froze him where he stood. He glanced around desperately. Maybe if he pressed himself against the wall-

Too late. A figure showed dark against the entry, a large sack held in its hand by a strap.

Jogging into the light, the girl gave him a wide grin."Hello, Father!" Grabbing his hand, she pulled him back the way he'd come.

"Let's keep running, I think we're still in the blast radius."

"Blast radius!" the Doctor yelped, "Jenny, what-"

"I rigged their power generator to explode. We've got eighteen minutes twenty nine seconds, and there's civilians to extricate in that time window."

"What?!"

"Just run, okay?"

They barreled through halls, past chambers that stank of-was that blood?-and into a tiny room. The Doctor whirled on his heel, staring back out the entrance.

"Jenny, what kind of generator is it, because from the wall construction and the-"

"Help me with these, will you?"

Turning to reply, the Doctor saw the contents of the room. Cages. And what-who-was in them. About a dozen sickly-looking Pa'aqui sat or stood inside the wire mesh cages. The Doctor's face hardened as everything he knew clicked into place. Taken together, it meant only one thing. The derelicts of the city, trapped, slaughtered, taken as produce and sold as meat off-world.

"Doc-tor!"

"Sha-Ta!" the Doctor cried, bounding to the nearest cage on the left. Sha-Ta stood huddled beside an adult, staring up at him. He grinned at her. "There you are, wonder where you'd wandered off to. I'm always telling people 'don't wander off', and I swear nobody listens. But let's have you out of there, shall we?" he aimed the sonic screwdriver at the lock, and it sizzled away into nothing.

"There, much better. Last stop, everybody off!" Running cage to cage, he burnt off locks and opened doors.

"Five minutes!" Jenny called to him. Then she turned, facing the huddled mass of feathers and craned necks.

"All right, everybody, get to the end of the corridor, turn left, there's a door. Get outside. Move, move, move!!"

As an unruly gaggle, the Pa'aqui took off. The Doctor turned to the nearest wall, and ripped loose a series of wires.

"Father, what-"

"Wait a minute!" He set the last wire, then shoved the whole mass back against the wall. Already it had started to spark. Grabbing his daughter's hand, he pulled her out of the room. A blue-white streak of electricity arced from one side of the doorway to the other.

"Malto bene!" the Doctor said fiercely, "Unless you like being deep-fried you won't be crossing that. That means anybody down here won't be sneaking out and getting away! In a minute that short will pass through the whole system down here. Presto, instant prison cells."

He turned to his daughter. "The electrostatic pressure in each room should contain most of the blast, but unless we want to stay down here we better get out before that short spreads through the rest of the system. Run!"

Still hand in hand, the Time Lords pelted down the corridors. Sparks flashed and spat from the walls. There was light up ahead. The Doctor put on an extra turn of speed.

Then the rumble began, deep in their bones, a force that shook the walls. Just a little further. It was hard to keep your balance when the floor didn't stay in the same place. The door. Finally. The Doctor and Jenny tumbled out the door on ground that bucked and writhed.

For a long moment they lay side by side, breathing hard. Drawing a breath, Jenny rolled over.

"Nice…job….Father."

He smiled weakly. "Same…on..you. Always…exploding…something!"

Before much time had passed loud squawks and whistles announced the arrival of the City Guard. There were explanations. The power grid was shut off and the conspirators hauled from their underground den. Before the blue-white sun had set, the two Time Lords were standing in front of the Sisters of Justice.

"Our thanks and ccon-grat-ul-at-ions on the find-ing of these fiends."

"Well, thanks," the Doctor said lightly, hands in the pockets of his coat, "Always glad to lend a hand. By the way, we'll be leaving now, so I think Sha-Ta has served her sentence."

"Yes." The judging Sister said, "She is ex-ccused."

"Welll," the Doctor drawled, "Actually I think it might be a good idea if you kept her around. Since she seems to have the Light Eyes and all."

That got the attention of every avian in the room, and an astonished stare from Sha-Ta.

"The Light eyes?" one of the lesser Sisters said sharply, "A cchild of no hatch-ing line?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Only way to know is to give her the test."

He was favored with long stares.

"Oh go on." He cajoled, "Can't hurt to try, can it?"

The judging Sister ruffled her feathers. "The cchild will be tes-ted. The Lit-tle Ccourt rec-ess-es."

The Doctor bowed, holding his arms out from his body as was polite, and turned to leave.

"Doc-tor, wait."

Straightening her long legs, the judging Sister stalked across the room to stand over him.

"You have done us great ser-vice."

"Oh, all in a day's work, really."

"And be-cause of your aid," the lady continued as if she hadn't heard, "There is a thing I wish to tell you. A thing I see ar-ound you. There are some who are wait-ing for you. They are in pain. They are cry-ing."

The Doctor's brows drew together.

"Who?" he asked.

The Sister ruffled her feathers.

"The High Ones. Gods."

The Doctor stared into her great yellow eyes, brow creased.

"Yes. Thanks for the message."

The Sister bobbed her head, and walked away.

* * *

The last of the sunlight bathed them as they stepped out of the Little Court.

"What was that about?"

The Doctor glanced at Jenny's puzzled face.

"I don't know. Just…"

Jenny watched her father's pensive expression as they walked, but he said nothing else. Soon they were standing in front of the TARDIS. The Doctor unlocked the door, his eyes still preoccupied. He strode to the console. Jenny took up her place at the controls without a word, her eyes on the older man's thin frame. For a long moment, the Doctor stared at the weaving light within the time rotor. Then he sighed.

"Que sera sera." He murmured.

"Whatever will be will be?"

The Doctor glanced at her with a refuel half-smile. "That's about the size of it. Just have to wait and see what comes, won't we?"

Jenny nodded hesitantly. The Doctor smiled.

"Then let's see what's out there for us."

Reaching out, he pulled the handbrake.


End file.
